Branson to turn space travel into a six-figure adventure

Richard Branson's Virgin transport, entertainment and communications group has signed an agreement with pioneering aviation designer Burt Rutan to build an aircraft based on Rutan's SpaceShipOne vessel. SpaceShipOne cracked the barrier to manned commercial space flight in June by flying 328,491 feet, or about 62 miles, above Earth -- about 400 feet above the distance scientists widely consider to be the boundary of space. The flight lasted 90 minutes. The new service will be called Virgin Galactic and expects to fly 3,000 new astronauts in its first five years. Fares will start at US$208,000 for a suborbital flight, including three days' training.

New item for the personal To Do list: become an astronaut by 2015. I missed out on flying the concorde, but this one might be within reach.